Kansas City’s Country Club Plaza used to be one of my favorite places to spend the day.
It was charming, full of small businesses and a meaningful connection to my city.
But now, the area has lost almost everything I used to love about it. When I walk down the brick sidewalks and look up at the Spanish-inspired architecture, all I see are chain stores filling the once unique storefronts.
The Plaza needs to focus on bringing back its original charm and prioritize small businesses rather than continuing to open countless chain stores that are just popular on social media.
When I walk into Lululemon or other large franchises, I’m greeted by harsh LED lights and a store that has no connection to Kansas City. At the cash register, I feel like all I’m doing is giving in to social media trends and contributing to the power and wealth of a chain business.
“The Plaza has changed — new ownership, slower foot traffic, fewer small businesses — but we’re moving forward with full hearts,” Razzleberry’s Instagram said.
New stores coming to the Plaza include Alo, LoveShackFancy, J.H & Sons and Perch. With them having countless other locations across the U.S., these stores don't qualify as a small business in my mind. These additions will only lead to a copy-and-pasted shopping center that anyone can find in any city.
Kansas City doesn’t need any more high-end retail stores with expensive items people wear once a year; we need small businesses — like Made in KC — from within our city that make customers feel like every dollar they pay is giving back to our community, rather than filling the pockets of major companies.
In 2025, 30% of the Plaza’s storefronts were vacant, according to The Kansas City Star. One of the many closings included Razzleberry — a boutique that sold locally sourced and themed items— after four years of business.
One business that opened on Nov. 26 that I love is The Current Shop on Nichols Road. The store is the Kansas City Current’s second retail location and is exactly what the Plaza needs more of. Promoting Kansas City, the store sells a variety of the team’s merchandise and when I’m there I feel connected to my community and always happy to support our women’s soccer team.
Not to mention, more locally inspired, Plaza-held events such as The Plaza’s Spring Market & Shopping Stroll are crucial to maintaining and helping small businesses. The second annual event on Saturday March 28, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., will be filled with live music, balloon art, face painting from Face Fancies Face Painting and fresh floral arrangements by White Farmhouse Flowers — a local small flower boutique in Parkville.
The event hasn’t even happened yet, but I can already envision the sunshine on my face, happy people around me and the feeling of community that the Plaza hasn’t had in a long time.
Though events like this help small businesses, it doesn’t justify the constant opening of chain stores that take away from the uniqueness of Kansas City.
The Plaza needs to prioritize small businesses, whether is being during events like the Spring Market & Shopping Stroll or through storefronts, because no matter how hard the owners of the Plaza try to restore what they think is the “charm” of the area, it won’t work without focusing on the actual community and small businesses from it.
Leave a Reply